Back in France: Paris

As much as I loved seeing so many new places in France, it felt wonderful to settle back into my favorite city, Paris.

On our first day there, our guide Myriam walked us by the Allée des Justes to show us the wall of the Righteous - Gentiles who had helped out Jews during the Shoah and been named Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem. I was pleased to see the Trocmés but nothing prepared me for seeing the names of Marie Chotel and Henri Briard.

Several years back when I was taking a graduate class on Women and the Holocaust, I read the book Doors to Madame Marie by Odette Meyers. She chronicled her time in France during the Shoah, and it was her landlady Marie Chotel and Marie's partner Henri Briard who risked their lives to save Odette and her mother. I had the good fortune to meet Odette's son Daniel in Paris that summer and so I felt a bit of a personal connection to those names.

André and Magda Trocmé, along with their entire village of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, were responsible for saving about 5,000 Jewish lives - most of them children

Henri Briard and Marie Chotel helped to save Odette Meyers and her mother Berthe

Since this is my eighth (and maybe final) trip to Paris, I did not take a lot of photos and instead tried to just be in the moment and soak it all in. I have so many photos of landmarks, so when I did take pictures, I tried to capture unique aspects of Paris I had not yet photographed. Paris is so very photogenic, so this was not difficult to do...

Comments

Les Femmes Tondues

"Germany Wins on All Fronts" - the Eiffel Tower (Getty Images) It is no great secret that some French collaborated during the Nazi Occupation of France. Some did it for less than admirable reasons, such as political gain, anti-Semitism, or true fascist ideology. Other people were frightened and saw no end to the Occupation, while some were motivated simply by the desire to survive. Many women who collaborated fall into the latter category. French women and German soldiers enjoying lunch at a café (Unidentified Photo Source) Food, clothes, and fuel (among other items) were scarce during the Occupation. Nearly everything needed to sustain life was rationed, and much of France's food and other necessary commodities were shipped to Germany. One way to ensure warmth and a full belly was by making nice with a German soldier. A French woman chats with a German soldier in front of the Eiffel Tower during the Occupation In a desperate attempt to surv...

Sylvia Beach - An American In Paris

This past fall I read Americans in Paris: Life and Death Under Nazi Occupation by Charles Glass. Meticulously researched, the book described the collaboration, resistance, and survival stories of several Americans during the Occupation. Of all the fascinating Americans Glass discussed, I felt an instant connection to one, and have been mildly obsessed with her ever since… Sylvia Beach Photo Source: donswaim.com/ripley-lawrence.htm The Woman Nancy Woodridge Beach was born on March 14, 1887 in Baltimore, Maryland. She spent much of her childhood and young adult life living throughout Europe. Her first encounter with Paris came at a young age when her father, a pastor, was appointed assistant minister of the American Church in Paris, as well as director of the American student center. As a young adult she spent time in Spain and even served a stint in Serbia in the Red Cross. Although her birth name was Nancy, she would become known to the world as Sylvia Beach. ...

La Rafle du Vel d’Hiv (The Vel d’Hiv Round Up)

Photo Source: 1 st Art Gallery Every Holocaust survivor – every ghost of those who did not survive - has a story to tell. Each story is unique, yet equally tragic. Some we have heard more than once, while others lay silent, buried in the dusty pages of a nation’s shame… Occupation and Anti-Semitism 14 June 1942 marked the two-year anniversary of the Nazi occupation of Paris. By this point, many French had joined the Résistance , while others felt it in their best interest to collaborate with the Nazi regime. Many Jews had fled France, and those who remained behind lived in chronic fear. The Jewish Decrees (France's version of the Nuremberg Laws) saw the Jews of Paris stripped of their livelihoods, property, and rights. As in other occupied areas of Europe, the French Jews were required to wear the yellow stars of David. Inscribed with a single word in the center, Juif (Jew), the badges had to be sewn neatly on the left side of the chest. Failure to do so coul...

le blog

Search This Blog